For the production of mixture products, one generally combines am additive component with a base component. The additive component is itself made by mixing individual components. Examples of additive components include components that provide flavor, and/or color, as well as components that promote preservation of the mixture product. Examples of mixture products include drinks, such as mixed drinks, including soft drinks or lemonades. An example of a base component is water.
A typical plant for mixing drinks includes a tank for degassing the base component, one or more admixture devices and/or mixing sections for the metered admixture of the additive component, an optional carbonating device for carbonating the mixed drink, and a storage device for temporarily storing the mixed drink.
In the case of mixed drinks, the additive component is sometimes referred to as “syrup.” The syrup is usually premixed from the individual components in a separate premixing space, which is often called a “syrup space.” The syrup is then brought from this syrup space to a mixing device. At the mixing device, the syrup is diluted and blended with the degassed base component until it reaches its final concentration. The degassed base component is typically water
Within the syrup space, known devices for the pre-proportioning or premixing of the additive components in the separate syrup space feed individual components into an associated batch tank. To ensure proportionality, they typically do so under the control of flow-meters or load cells. These known devices either use very large receiver tanks or alternate between two batch tanks that are connected in parallel. The two batch tanks are usually designed to hold enough volume so that one can fill continuously while the other is being refilled.
One disadvantage of these known devices is that all arriving or departing pipes, including fittings, mixing pumps, and mixing systems, must be replicated. Another disadvantage is the high investment costs that arise as a consequence of both the need to replicate all these parts, and the need to provide such large container volumes.
Other known methods and mixing devices are configured for inline proportioning. In such devices, the individual components are introduced into the mixer in parallel inline into the base component.
One disadvantage of these mixing devices arises from their considerable technical complexity. Each individual component requires its own proportioning leg. Each such leg will include, among other things, a header vessel, a level measurement, a feed controller, a pump, flow-meters, and a volume control valve.
A further disadvantage of the mixing device is that the pumps are running most of the time. As a result, these pumps will heat up. Inevitably, this heat is transferred to the individual components. If the volumes of liquid are large, this heat is easily dissipated without causing a significant temperature rise. However, the individual components are used in only small amounts. As a result, waste heat from the pump can be enough to raise their temperature considerably. This heating can result lead in product damage.
In known methods for inline proportioning, it is desirable to make redundant measurements of the added individual components to ensure product quality. In particular, it is desirable to check measured-data provided by flow-meters, such as mass flow-meters and volumetric flow-meters, or to check data provided by weighing scales used for the proportioning, as well as to execute inline control measurement methods for detecting faulty measurements or incorrect proportions. In known devices, these redundant measurements are either not possible or highly complex.